What's your TV Moment of the Year? | Lisa Campbell

I'm delighted to be in post as the new festival director of The Guardian Edinburgh International Television
Festival powered by You Tube and I'm looking forward to helping shape an event that will celebrate creativity but also deliver great business insight for all our delegates.

We're busy developing session ideas at the moment and there are some great suggestions which we'll be announcing in coming weeks. I'm also thinking hard about how we make this premier event in the TV calendar even better and I'd love to hear your thoughts. (You can email me on the address below).

We're likely to make a few tweaks this year and introduce further changes in the longer term, but we plan to keep you up to speed with all our news in these new fortnightly newsletters. One new initiative I'd like to tell you about is our new awards category,  TV Moment of the Year - and I'm sure many of you have material which could be a contender for the title.

If you think about your favourite TV series of years gone by, there's always a classic moment that sticks in the mind. They may be moments that make us laugh no matter how many times we've seen them - the comedy gold of Del Boy falling through the bar in Only Fools and Horses - or moments in which we marvel at the sheer inventiveness of the show's creators - from Python's Dead Parrot to David Lynch's dancing dwarf in Twin Peaks.

They may be cringeworthy moments - the first time we saw a jungle-dwelling celebrity chow down on a testicle; or David Brent gyrating in The Office  - or even moments we wish we could forget, but can't - George Galloway, on his knees, lapping milk like a cat on Big Brother makes me shudder even now.

Then there are the moments that shock, that surprise, that leave us gasping in incredulity - the Breaking Bad finale or Game of Thrones' Red Wedding. 

Every producer seeks that golden moment - whatever the genre - the moment that causes the nation to unite and react together whether in sadness, shock or laughter. It’s the moment that sees everyone take to Twitter to ask: ‘did you see that?!'

Which is why we wanted to add a new category to Edinburgh's Channel of the Year Awards. We want to identify and celebrate the most iconic moments of the year and there is certainly plenty to choose from in what has been a stellar year for television.

Whether it’s the explosive ending of a series such as Sherlock; the exit of a much-loved character such as Corrie’s Hayley; or a heart-wrenching minute such as Musharaf overcoming his stammer on Educating Yorkshire, we want to reward the most talked-about 60 seconds of television.

 You can make your submissions for TV Moment of the Year until June 30, and submitted clips will be showcased online in May and June when the category will be opened up to a public vote. The winner will be announced as part of the festival’s Channel of the Year Awards on August 22.

Don't forget to tweet about your moment, and include a link using #TVmoment.  You can find us at @EdinburghTVFest. 

We'll also be featuring a selection in our newsletters.

So get your entries in and good luck!

Lisa Campbell | Festival Director

lisacampbell@geitf.co.uk